Ninja Bonding
by PrincessFoxSpaceNinja
Summary: Lloyd has been feeling down lately. With his uncle missing through time, his father dead and much more drama going on in his life, the Green Ninja is stuck bonding with Jay. In the meantime, the other Ninjas have to deal with each other in uncomfortable pairs. Will Misako kill Dareth? Will Cole survive Nya? How awkward will things get with Kai and Zane and what is Ronin planning?
1. Awkward Bonding Part 1

**I don't own these characters.**

* * *

Of all the people to notice that Lloyd was feeling down, it had to be Ronin.

Say what you will about the mercenary/assassin, but he has a lot of people skills. Maybe that's how he got to become such a great thief.

But… a treasure hunt?

"I hid the clues all over Ninjago City. You are to split up in teams of two. Kai, Cole, Lloyd and Dareth are to pick a name out of the hat. That name is the person you are to be on a team with." Ronin was so pleased with himself.

Lloyd got to pick out his card first. Then Cole, then Kai, then Dareth.

"Who did you get?" Ronin asked.

"I got Zane," Kai answered. Cole got Nya. Dareth got Misako (she wanted to play too, for some reason). Lloyd got Jay. This was already going to be a lot of fun.

* * *

 _The bowels of the city is filled with worms._

* * *

 ** _Kai & Zane_**

"This is awkward," Kai mused as he got in the car with Zane. The nindroid nodded in agreement.

"I agree."

"Where do you think the bowels are?" Kai asked.

Zane gestured to his mid-section. "Right around here."

"I mean, of the city," Kai responded. "Worms…"

"Perhaps the underground city?" Zane asked. "Snakes can be worms."

The two ninjas left the ship to head to the underground city.

* * *

 ** _Jay & Lloyd_**

"Aren't you disappointed that you're stuck with me instead of Nya or Cole?" Lloyd asked as Jay drove the car to the underground tunnels where the Serpentine lived these days.

"Have you ever been in a steel cage with a rabid wolverine?" Jay asked. Lloyd shook his head. "Well, that's what it's like being on a team with Nya. I feel sorry for Cole, because he'll be ripped to shreds, and don't you dare tell Nya that I said that. Ever."

The younger ninja stared at Jay with wide green eyes. "Yikes."

Jay took a left, and the quietness in the car soon became awkward. "We don't hang out much, do we?"

Lloyd nodded. "Other than comic books, we don't have much to talk about and even then, we don't hang out much."

"Okay, let's bond now. Tell me about yourself."

Lloyd hummed. "Okay. I like comic books, candy and Martial Arts. But you already know that. Uh… I don't know what else there is."

Jay banged his head against the steering wheel, which caused the horn to go off. "This is going to be a long day."

* * *

 _ **Cole & Nya**_

"FASTER! FASTER! DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS? IT MEANS MORE FAST!"

"I'm going as fast as I can!" Cole was doing his best to keep up with Nya and to get her to stop yelling in his ear. Maybe this was why Jay didn't protest when he got Lloyd and Cole got Nya.

"FASTER!"

"We can't move, there's traffic!"

"Then we should run!"

Before Cole could even protest, Nya was out of the car and running alongside the traffic. He could see Jay's car (which the Blue Ninja built himself) far ahead of the line. Nya slammed her boyfriend's car, which led to the car rising up and flying away. The traffic started moving again, which meant that Nya had to do the walk of shame back to Cole's car.

"I don't suppose your car can do that?" Nya asked as she climbed back in. Cole shook his head and Nya sighed.

"This is going to be a long day." Cole couldn't help but agree.

Just not out loud.

* * *

 _ **Dareth & Misako**_

Misako didn't know all of the ninjas, but she saw most of them on TV. Except for this guy who called himself the Brown Ninja.

His name was Dareth, if she remembered correctly. She never rode in a convertible before, and it felt strange. She was hoping she would get Lloyd. She didn't know any of the others well enough for this to NOT be awkward.

And then Dareth opened his mouth. "Say, I can't help but notice that Lloyd is blond like the old man was while you and his dad both had dark hair. How's that possible?"

She slapped Dareth in the face.

"Sorry."

Some other people asked her the same question back when Lloyd was born. Garmadon didn't seem to mind it and it was just as well, since she didn't mess around with Wu. Her husband apparently was an "unaffected carrier" of an Albinism gene, which, unfortunately, affected Lloyd. Wu was affected too. It was just a simple hereditary mutation.

Suddenly Nya ran past them, from Cole's car behind them, to Jay's car, which was in front of them. She slammed the roof of the car, yelling at Jay, who was freaking out at the sight of his girlfriend attacking his car.

"Poor Jay," Dareth mused.

The car in front of them suddenly tucked its wheels underneath itself, and the car lifted itself up into the sky, which left Nya standing alone in the road as her boyfriend left with his flying car. Misako didn't even know he had a flying car. How did that happen?

"Just so you know, I was trying to ease into the whole "Your son is Albino" thing," Dareth said once Jay and Lloyd were out of sight. "But also, his eyes are a weird colour. Why are they green? Most people have blue eyes."

Misako shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe his powers."

"That makes sense, actually. On Chen's island, there was this guy with grey skin and this invisible guy who is always invisible and this girl with greenish skin and this guy who tastes like metal if you lick him."

"What? You licked a man?"

"…a bit of a coppery aftertaste."

Misako decided that Dareth was a very strange man.


	2. Awkward Bonding Part 2

_**Kai & Zane**_

Kai and Zane were the first team to wind up in the underground city of the Serpentine. But then again, the road there felt like it took forever. Fire and Ice didn't mix well. Or rather, it didn't mix at all. Kai started fidgeting with his seatbelt, clicking and unclicking while Zane calculated the fastest road to the tunnels.

Scales met the two ninja right in front of the entrance, looking downright mad. Scales Jr. was an entirely different case and was hopping up and down next to his frustrated father.

"Are we the last ones here?" Zane asked, glancing around for the other Ninjas.

"No, you two are the first to get here," Scales hissed. "The others are late."

Kai sighed. "Please don't tell me we have to wait for them to get here."

"You _don't_ have to wait for them. Your little mercenary friend gave me a weird little poem and left."

Scales Jr. stared at Kai with big, innocent red eyes. His eyes were starting to spin, and so was Kai's head. The Red Ninja couldn't control his own thoughts anymore…

While Zane listened to the Snake King talk about the tomb where he and his Hypnobrai brethren were locked up for thousands of years (he didn't bother to remember the poem), Kai started barking like a dog. Zane nearly passed out when his friend started barking next to him. If young snakes are going to hypnotize his friend all the way through this treasure hunt, it wasn't really worth it, was it?

* * *

 _ **Jay & Lloyd**_

Lloyd didn't expect Jay's car to suddenly start flying when Nya appeared, attacked the car and demanded to switch places with Jay. Then Jay pressed a series of buttons, which made the car lift itself off the road and fly away. They left Nya behind, dejected and abandoned.

Or not. She went to the back of the jam, where Cole was waiting in his car. Okay, so Jay was right about Nya being a rabid wolverine when it comes to things like this.

"I thought you were kidding," Lloyd whispered in shock.

Jay shook his head and landed his car by the tunnels leading to the underground home of the Serpentine. Zane's car was sitting right there. The two ninjas went inside to meet Scales and their friends inside. Kai immediately started barking at the two. Literally.

Like a dog. He was running to the two ninjas, on all fours, barking his head off.

Zane came running after, with Scales Jr. and his father running and slithering after.

"Undo it _this instant_ young snake!" Scales demanded. His son stubbornly shook his head. "Junior…"

Zane had to pick up Kai, who started squirming to get away. Seeing as he was bigger and stronger than Zane, it was pretty easy. The moment he got away, he bolted. Everybody was after him. "Bad Kai!" Jay yelled as he ran after his friend. "Down, boy! Heel! Stop being a dog!"

Those were all strange things to be yelling at your friend. But everyone else was yelling it too. Maybe it would help a little?

It was Scales who snapped Kai out of the spell.

With a whack on the head from the anti-venom in his staff, Kai was back to normal. Hopefully.

* * *

 _ **Cole & Nya**_

"OW!"

Upon entering the tomb, the two ninjas found a very strange sight. Zane had scratches all over himself, Jay and Lloyd were doing their best not to laugh and Kai was sitting in the dirt, dazed. Two Serpentine, Scales and his son, were talking on the side. The young snake had a look of being in trouble and knowing it on his tiny face.

"What did I tell you about charming strangers?!" Scales hissed at his young son. "You might have seriously harmed him! You need to practice before you do something like this!"

Cole first thought that Nya would start bossing the snakes around, but for the first time that day, she was quiet and waited for the snake to finish scolding his son.

Apparently Scales couldn't be bothered to remember the riddle. Jay and Lloyd left shortly after Kai and Zane.

When Cole and Nya were outside again, ready to go to the tomb where Scales' people were imprisoned all those years, Cole couldn't find his car. Instead, it was just Jay's car and there were screws and bolts strewn around. There was a note stuck to the door with a magnet. Who in their right mind carried a magnet around?

The handwriting pointed to Jay.

 _Dear Nya_

 _If you can get her going without the battery and the keys, be my guest._

 _Sorry, Cole, we know you're innocent. We just didn't want to be stuck here in the heat._

Cole shot a look at Nya. She looked very sorry. Even more so when Misako and Dareth appeared. Nya's expression couldn't mean anything good.

* * *

 _ **Dareth & Misako**_

Dareth jumped out of the car and opened the door for Misako like a true gentleman. Misako faked a giggle and Dareth bowed for her.

The Brown Ninja went in after Misako after he pressed several buttons in his car. Nya and Cole were stuck by Jay's car, arguing or something. Maybe it would be a good idea to wait by the car. Misako was a tough lady, after all.

Nya kept staring at him, then back to Cole. "BUT JAY TOOK OUR CAR!" Nya shouted.

"Because you broke Jay's car! I refuse to take part in this, Nya."

Oh boy. Last time Dareth had someone look at him like that, it was his stepfather and the man sent him to military school. Four years of dragging himself through the mud, barbed wires and people shouting at him… He would much rather deal with the snakes than Nya, but he would much rather not have another car demolished. And that would most likely happen if he were to leave right now.

Oh boy.

"Come on, Misako. Hurry up…"

Right on time. Misako showed up just about when Nya started towards him, like a predator on the prowl. The girl scared him. His fear is justified.


	3. Ronin's Search

**This chapter is about what Ronin's up to while the Ninjas are out.  
**

* * *

 _ **Ronin**_

If one were to think that Ronin, a mercenary/assassin, would do anything out of the goodness of his heart, you would be very, very wrong.

The Ninjas were certain to have good stuff hanging around the ship. Wu's old room might have some valuable tea, Kai's room would have cool weapons, Jay and Nya's rooms were sure to have advanced technology, Cole might have some expensive stuff in his room, as would Misako, and if he remembered correctly, Zane was doing _something_ in his room.

It had to be good.

Misako's room was a huge disappointment. A map of Ninjago on the wall, a weird drawing of a bunch of colourful stick figures done on crayon signed by Lloyd. Ronin hoped that if there wasn't anything good, he would at least get blackmail. All he knew now was that Lloyd couldn't draw. Was that thing with all the spikes coming out of its head supposed to be Kai?

With the disappointment he found in Misako's room, Ronin went up to the next best place; Lloyd's room. Maybe he still had his golden suit or kept a diary full of embarrassing secrets.

Lloyd's room was a mess.

There were crayons on the desk and a couple more drawings that were either stick figures or weird smiling blobs. There was one of something with four arms. Right. Lloyd's father.

When Ronin checked under the bed, he found Lloyd's diary. When he opened it, all he got was a bunch of nonsense Lloyd wrote, something about a cat he found and some more about cats. There was an entire page dedicated to drawings of cats, the one thing Lloyd was actually good at drawing, and then Lloyd rambled on and on about how his uncle wouldn't let him get a cat because he would have to clean out the sandbox and they don't have the time for it. For the rest of the book that was dedicated to Lloyd wanting a cat, there were more drawings of cats, including some of the Ninjas as cats.

Ronin decided that it would be best to put the book away and see what else Lloyd had in his room. Maybe in his closet…

In his closet, there were several crates of SPF 45 sunblock, body lotion, sunhats and long-sleeved shirts and pants. On a hanger by the side, there was a diving suit, minus the flippers.

Ronin was considering the idea that Lloyd might be a vampire. That would explain so much.

If he was right, it would be a bad idea to stay in the kid's room for much longer.

* * *

Kai's room was different.

It was messy, but in a different kind of way.

No weapons, which is strange for a blacksmith, but also, the guy seemed to be hoarding fire extinguishers. And not even in a neat manner. Ronin could count thirty…

"OW!" Thirty-one fire extinguishers, scattered across the floor. When he looked up, there were a couple more ducktaped to the ceiling.

Oh, right. Blackmail.

Kai didn't exactly keep a journal. There was, however, a little book in the drawer next to the Red Ninja's bed, which recorded the exact number of… somethings of everyone.

 _Nya: 85_

 _Lloyd: 89_

 _Jay: 106_

 _Zane: N/A_

 _Cole: 70_

 _Ronin: 74_

 _Dareth: 62_

 _Misako: 69_

Ronin had no idea what Kai was recording, but when that was the latest thing recorded in the book. On the first page, there were a bunch of times. Then some more times. Names of breakfast foods paired with everybody. Wu was there up until one of the recent pages, and on one of them, Kai's mom and dad were added. There was an entire chapter where Cole and Lloyd suddenly weren't added and there was a chapter where Zane wasn't there.

Time to abandon the room of wtf is going on in Kai's head.

* * *

Nya's room was boring. Just a bunch of books, most of them on samurai.

Ronin knew what a samurai was. He used to be one before his master abandoned him, which left him without anybody he could rely on.

There were framed photos of Nya and Jay, Nya and Kai, Nya and Cole (not sure what Jay thinks of that), Nya with her parents and Nya with the entire gang sitting on the bookcase.

She had no weird book with random numbers, which means it's not something their family does.

A couple of dresses, a calendar with an X marked on a date that was in a couple of weeks, a couple of photos of Nya experimenting with various different looks, a couple of photos of what Ronin first thought was a blonde girl trying out the different looks but turned out to be Jay (it took Ronin longer than he was proud of to realise it) and a couple of photos of Cole doing normal things, unaware of the photos being taken, apparently.

Ronin was proud to say that he was correct when he found a photo of what is obviously Jay running from Cole, who had a startled expression on his face.

So maybe Nya's room wasn't as boring as he first thought.

* * *

Cole had nothing interesting to offer. Unless one were to count the many stashes of cookies to be found under the bed, under the pillow and in the closet.

The many, MANY stashes of cookies. Ronin was tempted to take one, but he didn't want to face the wrath of Cole. It just wasn't worth fighting a super-strong guy over some snacks.

Also, like Kai, Cole had a little problem with the hoarding.

When Ronin turned around to leave the room, he was faced with a couple of drawings. Unlike Lloyd whose only talent in drawing was with the cats, Cole was actually pretty good.

Stuck to the door, there was a finely drawn tiger surrounded by flames. On the wall, there was a drawing of Lloyd reaching out to something while Morro was pulling him back into the darkness.

There was a drawing of Lou and the rest of the Royal Blacksmiths, singing with what appeared to be a much younger Cole. There was a drawing of a hand sticking out of the dirt, which gave Ronin the creeps.

Maybe Cole was worried that he might accidently bury himself or one of the other ninjas alive? Or maybe (worse) he already did something like that by accident?

When Ronin looked around in the sketchpad, he found a couple of well-done drawings of people, including the Ninjas and one of a man Ronin never met before standing next to Lou.

Who in the world _was_ that?

* * *

When Ronin entered Jay's room, the first thing he noticed was a whole lot of blueprints hanging all around the walls. They looked to be interesting. Designs for a pair of mechanical wings. From what he'd been told, Jay met Wu when he was testing out a pair of wings from a rooftop.

That was stupid, seeing as one does not test something like that from a rooftop for the first time. Ronin knew that. Even Ronin's nephew, who might be twelve, knew that, and that kid swallowed twenty bits in small change. But he was two at the time and Ronin wasn't the best babysitter.

Anyway, Jay seemed to want to try it again. This time, the wings seemed to be about the right size to lift someone of Jay's weight into the air, there was a helmet (along with a note about wearing it "this time", wasn't he wearing a helmet the first time?) in a box next to the table and a jumpsuit spread out across the table, apparently being modified.

When Ronin opened Jay's closet, he found a blonde wig (he recognised it from Nya's photos) in a bag, as well as a photo album, like the one in Nya's room. Only, instead of him and Nya goofing off, there were photos of other stuff.

Jay with his friends at the junkyard. Jay and his parents, smiling awkwardly. Jay at a roller derby with his mom, wearing matching outfits. Jay and his dad, building something.

Most of these photos were of Jay with his parents, while some of them were of Zane before he sacrificed himself to save Ninjago, hanging out with Jay.

And, more hilariously, there was a couple of photos of Cole and Nya that were hideously vandalised by what was very obviously three very different people. Maybe Jay and his parents?

When Ronin continued looking for things, he found sunblock and moisturizer, just sitting there. Minding its own business. And a bag of Gummy Ninjas.

Very disappointed, Ronin shut the closet door to head to Zane's room, but before he was anywhere close to the door, a trap was triggered, leaving the mercenary/assassin trapped under an electric net.

It would take him a while before he got the feeling back in his legs.

Ow.

* * *

 **A Ronin is a disgraced samurai, for those who don't know. I was curious about his name one day and looked it up.  
**


	4. Awkward Bonding Part 3

_**Kai & Zane**_

Kai's head was still hurting, so now he and Zane were sitting in the park, Zane holding his cold hand to Kai's head.

"Why did he have to hit me over the head with the staff?" Kai moaned.

Zane shook his head solemnly as an elderly woman scurried by. "I don't know. Perhaps he was just in a bad mood."

Kai made a sound similar to a wounded animal.

"Perhaps we should take you to a hospital to see if you have a concussion," Zane suggested.

Kai made another wounded animal sound. "Not so l-ow-ow-ow-owd."

Kai managed to stand up by himself, which was actually pretty impressive, considering that he was hit pretty hard. Zane had to stand up too, seeing as he had the duty of being a living ice-pack for Kai.

"Are you able to walk?"

Kai didn't answer, but he did walk into a nearby streetlamp, so he could, technically, walk. Just not very well. And not in a straight line.

"Let's get you to the car." Zane had to help Kai, because of the previously mentioned problem.

"My head hurts, Zane," Kai groaned. "And everything's moving…"

Upon entering the car, it suddenly stuck Zane that they had a minor problem or two.

Zane needed both his hands to drive, but Kai didn't want to give him his hand back.

Kai certainly couldn't drive, he could barely even walk. "Your hand is judging me…" Kai groaned.

"We should take the bus." It was safer that way.

* * *

 _ **Jay and Lloyd**_

"That was weird, wasn't it? Kai barking at us. I know it was Junior making him do that, but it was _weird_. Can I drive?"

"No."

"Why not? I'm the one who picked the lock!"

"You're twelve, Lloyd."

"You didn't mind when I had to fight my dad."

Jay hit the brakes so suddenly that Lloyd almost flew out through the windshield. That'll teach him not to wear his seatbelt. He didn't say anything. He just sat there, staring out in front of him, with no readable expression.

"Jay…?"

Nothing. The cars that were behind them moved by.

"Jay, are you okay?"

"If you want to drive so badly, then drive." Jay got out of the car and waited for Lloyd to scoot over to the driver's seat. When he was back in the car, Lloyd started driving.

"I'm sorry…" Lloyd started, but Jay interrupted him.

"Lloyd, I know that you've been through a lot. But you have to remember that you're not alone. You can talk to us whenever you feel like you need to. Did anybody ever tell you how Wu found us?"

Lloyd shook his head. "Not really. I know Kai joined to save Nya and that Cole ran away from home at some point, but I don't know much otherwise."

"Okay, first of all, those mirrors on the sides and over here, they're not just to see of your hair looks good. They're there so you can see if there are any cars behind you."

This was going to be fun, if Lloyd was finally going to learn how to drive.

* * *

 _ **Cole & Nya**_

They had to take the bus.

"How could he?!" Nya hissed at Cole. "I'm his girlfriend, and he betrayed me!"

"You're the one who sabotaged his car," Cole reasoned. "He worked so hard on building it, and he had to abandon it because of it."

A woman old enough to be Sensei's grandmother gave the two a strange look.

Nya sighed. "I know I get a little crazy when I'm in a competition."

Several people, including the old lady sitting across Cole and Nya, snickered.

"Is this really any of your business?" Cole asked the old lady.

"I'm sorry, dearie, but this is better than my soaps." The lady giggled some more. "Even _Under the Belt_ doesn't have this much drama!"

Everybody turned to stare at the little old lady.

"What? I like the show and that Marko character is _such a hunk_!"

"You watch it too?" Cole ignored the indignant stares from Nya. "Can you believe that Kimmy broke up with him for Daniel? He's such an idiot, and Kimmy knows that!"

"Personally, I think Kimmy's just trying to get Loco's attention," the old lady said.

"Excuse me, but isn't Loco her long-lost half-brother?" Nya asked. The old lady smacked her in the face with her purse.

"Spoilers, dearie!" The old lady squinted a little in Nya's direction, then her entire face brightened. "You're that Jay boy's girlfriend, aren't you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I used to watch his show on my television!" The old lady frowned. "I don't think he liked it very much. Good thing it was stopped. He seems much happier on the news!"

"Well, he was missing Zane." Nya struggled to make herself comfortable in her seat. "We all were, and now he's back."

"Well, it's nice that your friend came back," the old lady sighed. "Is he the one who turned into the ghost or the one who exploded?"

"The one who exploded," Nya answered as the bus stopped. "This is our stop. Come on, Cole, let's go. I think we're the first ones here."

* * *

 _ **Dareth & Misako**_

Misako didn't know what to think of Dareth.

He was loud, and a little strange. Okay, very strange.

This was, after all, a man who licked another person for no good reason.

"So, do you have a… somebody?" Misako asked.

"A somebody?"

"You know, a girlfriend, or something like that."

"Nah, I don't have a girlfriend or something like that. I did go on a date with one of the Elemental Masters that one time, but it didn't go anywhere that wasn't weird."

Ronin stopped in front of the Hypnobrai tomb right as Cole and Nya came out.

"Hi guys!" Dareth waved at them. "If you don't have a ride back, you can come with us! We have the extra seats, after all."

Misako had to go in the tomb again.

There was a scroll stuck in the ice, waiting for her to take it.

When she unrolled it, there was a map leading to the other tombs, marked 1, 2, 3 and 4.

Okay, so they had to go to the other tombs. But why?

Not to be mean, but Misako didn't quite trust Ronin all that much.


	5. Loss of Intrest Part 1

_**Kai & Zane**_

The doctor flashed a light in Kai's eyes. "How did this happen again?"

"He was hit over the head with a Serpentine anti-venom staff to stop him from barking." Zane didn't even make up a story to try and make Kai feel less ridiculous.

"And why was he barking?" The doctor sounded amused. "Did he think he was a dog?"

"Actually, yes. But not anymore."

"Good. We don't want him ruining my carpet." The doctor snickered as Kai started singing under his breath. Something about someone letting some dogs out.

Zane decided that the man wasn't very professional. "Could you help him? He's hurt."

"Can I wash my hands?"

"You don't need to wash your hands, Mr Ninja. You need to lie down."

"My head hurts. Why does my head hurt?"

"Don't you remember? Scales had to hit you because you were barking." Zane reached out to try and help, but Kai moved away.

"Why was I barking? When did you turn silver? Where's Lloyd? I thought you were dead, what happened? Ooh, my head!" Kai tried to get up, but he immediately fainted, going limp in Zane's arms.

"What's wrong?"

"There's no need for concern, Zane. He'll be fine. But he should spend the night, just in case."

"No, I can't spend the night," Kai moaned from Zane's arms. "I have to check…"

And with that, Kai was out again.

"In that case, I'll stay here with him. Is that alright?"

The doctor nodded. "As long as you don't bother the other patients, it will be fine."

* * *

 _ **Jay and Lloyd**_

"… and when he reached the top of the mountain, there he was. Drinking tea."

"And then what?"

Suddenly, Jay gave an inhuman screech. "LOOK UT FOR THE GOAT!"

A walaber had walked into the road, not caring if it got hit or anything.

Lloyd hit the brakes, or so he thought, but it was the gas. Jay pulled the handbrake as hard as he could.

"Moo," The walaber moaned when it wrecked Cole's car.

The airbags went off, a little too late to be useful, but at least Jay and Lloyd were okay. Well, okay-ish.

Lloyd stumbled out of the car to find Jay lying in the middle of the road, clutching his arm. It seems that he flew out through the windshield. "Jay, are you okay?"

Jay mumbled something Lloyd couldn't understand, but sounded a lot like "stupid goat". Lloyd was next to Jay after a quick hop and a skip.

"Jay?" He held up three fingers. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

"… ugh." The Blue Ninja struggled to get up without the use of either arm. "Help me up? Please?"

Lloyd quickly obliged. "Are you okay?" He asked again once Jay was standing on both his feet.

"I cut my arm." Jay removed his shirt with the gracefulness of an elephant in a china shop. In other words, it was messy. When he was done, he made Lloyd look at his wounded arm. "Does it look bad?"

It did. It was bleeding very badly. "I'm going to puke."

Jay stepped back. "Not on me." He made a makeshift bandage with his shirt by cutting it into ribbons with his pocketknife. He managed to wrap his arm by himself, but it looked ridiculous. Lloyd had a couple of questions for Jay, but it could wait.

"We're close to my parents' place. We can walk."

This wasn't fun anymore.

* * *

 _ **Cole & Nya & Dareth & Misako**_

Cole had an awkward situation.

"No, Dareth, I don't think Cole and I will be getting back together."

Ah yes, being stuck in a car with his ex, Lloyd's mom and Dareth, who had this idea in his head that he and Nya should be getting back together. Look, he just repaired his relationship with Jay, after _years_ of being hated by his best friend, and Jay and Nya were finally back together, and Cole didn't want to mess this up. Dareth, on the other hand, didn't seem to agree.

"But didn't that machine say that you two were _meant_ to be together?" Dareth went on. "You two are _such_ a cute couple."

Nya put her hand to her head and gave out a long groan. "Dareth, we've been over this already. Cole and I went out a few years back, but we decided that it would be best if we stayed friends."

"But…"

Cole leaned forward, sticking his head between Dareth and Misako. "Look, Jay's my friend. And correct me if I'm wrong, but he's _your_ friend too. So I don't think it's a good idea for me and Nya to get together again."

"Yeah, what's with that?" Nya asked.

The car was quiet for what felt like hours, when Misako broke the silence. "What do you think Ronin's planning for him to want us all out of the temple?"

"Come on, Misako, Ronin changed." But Nya didn't sound too sure.

"Look, all I know is that the man is a pretty shady deal. He helped Morro, he helped Chen, and I'm pretty sure he killed a man."

The car was quiet again until Beethoven's 3rd symphony filled the air. Everybody turned and stared when Cole answered without _any_ shame. "This is Cole, what's up?"

The voice on the other end was recognised as Lou. _"COLE! ARE YOU OKAY?"_

"Yes, Dad. Nya, Misako, Dareth and I are on a treasure hunt. Why?"

The others listened (or tried to) as Cole tried to calm his father, who, judging by Cole's reaction and the panicked squeaking on the phone, was freaking out on a level they thought only Jay was capable of.

"No, I'm in Dareth's car, why? ...What?! All over? No! Oh no… Jay and Lloyd… um… borrowed it today because Jay's wouldn't start. Are you sure? None? All over? Where do you think they…? Hold on, Dad, I've got another call."

Cole pressed a button on his phone so he would talk to the other call. "Hi? JAY! WHERE THE HECK ARE YOU?! ARE YOU AND LLOYD OKAY?" Cole took a deep breath and listened to Jay talking on the other end.

" _One, two, three… is that better?"_ Jay's voice spoke.

"That actually worked. Now, what happened? My dad got a call from the police because they found my car in a wreck in the Sea of Sands. Are you and Lloyd okay? They say they found _a lot_ of blood on the scene. Oh no, is Lloyd okay?!... Lloyd was _driving_? Never mind, is he okay?"

Misako grabbed the phone from Cole and pressed it to her ear. _"… and then he started crying and apologizing at the same time, so my mom's got him in my bed, in my pyjamas, while my dad's taking me to the hospital, because I need like a thousand stitches and my mom won't let me use the stapler."_

"Jay? This is Misako. Is Lloyd okay?"

Jay hesitated, leaving Misako to suspect the worst. _"I'm not sure. He's unharmed, but he's been crying the whole way to my parents'. My mom just called to tell me that he's not crying anymore and sleeping right now. Does this look bad?"_

At first, Misako thought that Jay was talking to her and she was about to tell him that she couldn't see through the phone, but then she heard Ed freak out at his son. _"Ah! No, son! Keep that on! I don't want to look at that while I'm driving!"_

" _I can't feel it. It doesn't hurt."_

" _You're in shock, put that back on before you bleed out!"_

" _Shocking."_ Jay giggled on the other end of the phone. Then, _"Oh, Misako, sorry, I forgot about you. Could you give the phone back to Cole? I want to talk."_

Misako handed the phone back to Cole, as Jay asked. Cole promptly started freaking out again.

"What happened? Is Lloyd okay? Jay?!... Hello, Mr Walker. What happened? Is everybody okay?"

This time, it was Nya who grabbed the phone.

"Mr Walker, is everything okay?!" Then she handed the phone back to Cole. "He cut me off."

Cole was talking to his dad again, explaining that Jay and Lloyd were okay. Apparently Lou didn't care about the other ninjas as much as he cared about Cole, because he said his goodbye and left Cole franticly calling Jay again, then Lloyd and then Jay's parents. None of them answered.

* * *

 _ **Ronin**_

It took a while, but Ronin finally got out of the electrified net.

That was good, even if he couldn't feel his legs anymore. Why Jay even had that thing was a mystery.

He fell down a couple of times on the way out, but at long last he was outside Jay's room and in his own room, checking himself for anything life-threatening.

There were a couple of lightning-shaped bruises on his body in the form of a net and he would be able to pass as Kai and Nya's long-lost older brother due to the electricity messing up his hair, but if he fixed it, he might pass as himself. All he would need is some concealer and a straightener.

And by _some_ concealer, he meant _a lot_ of concealer and by a straightener he meant an iron.

"Ow." Ronin got the feeling back in his legs and decided to search his room for something to hide his scars.

A scarf, a long-sleeved shirt and his hat were useful, so he decided to put those on while he went shopping for concealer and a straightener (Nya didn't own such a thing) in Ninjago City.


	6. Loss of Intrest Part 2

**Kai and Zane will not appear again until later, as they're in the hospital. I didn't forget about them.  
**

* * *

 _ **Jay & Ed**_

Cole was calling him again. He could tell by the personalised ringtone he set for the Master of Earth, singing _We Will Rock You_ again. He was just about to answer, when his dad took the phone from him and turned it off.

"Jay, son, I think you should keep still. You might still have pieces of that window in your wounds."

"But I don't want Cole to think that I'm mad at him again!" Jay reached for his phone, but Ed managed to keep it out of reach. "But Dad…"

"I don't see why Cole would think you're mad at him, and I don't know what triggered it last time, but trust me, just because you don't answer him, doesn't mean he'll think you're mad at him."

Jay looked at his wounded arm. After arriving at his childhood home, his mom took Lloyd (poor kid) under her wing and put him to bed with a nice warm cup of chamomile tea to calm him down. His dad helped him clean up and loudly proclaimed that he was taking Jay to the hospital. "Is that your phone?"

Ed was just about to tell Jay that no, it wasn't his phone that was ringing, because nothing was ringing, when his phone started ringing. "Whoa, good instincts."

Jay lifted the old towel that he had to keep on his wound to slow down the bleeding. "No, it wasn't that. The phone tickled me. Who's calling?"

Ed switched his phone off. "Nobody important." If Jay was telling the truth about feeling the phone "tickle" him when it was about to ring, then Jay might actually start moving next time.

"I think Zane has a crush on Kai," Jay murmured.

That was good. Jay was talking. If he was talking, he would be able to stay awake. "Oh? Why do you think so?"

Jay snickered. "He keeps telling me how much Skylor sucks. Then he gave me a hundred bits to embarrass Kai in front of her and tell her everything that might put her off the idea of Kai."

"Isn't he with that Pixal girl? You know, the one who lives in his head?"

Jay rolled his eyes. "Oh, _that_. I think they broke up, but I'm not sure how that works. She can't _leave_."

Ed turned to Ninjago City Hospital.

That was actually pretty unfortunate. He wanted to know more about the crazy love triangle… square… something going on with the Ninjas.

"We're here. Let's get you some stitches."

* * *

 _ **Lloyd & Edna**_

"…and here's some tea to help you calm down."

Lloyd sobbed some more. "I'm so sorry… I didn't see the walaber and then Jay… He went right…" Lloyd sobbed some more. "… he went right out the window!"

"Jay's okay, Lloyd. He's in shock, but he'll be fine. He got hurt far worse when that invention of his exploded in his face…" Edna trailed off when she saw the shocked look on Lloyd's face. "Sweetie, trust me, he'll be fine. It was an accident."

Edna drew Lloyd a nice warm bath and retrieved some of Jay's old clothes for the Green Ninja to wear, since his clothes were all dirty and torn from both the long walk and the accident. Lloyd looked like he was about Jay's size.

While Lloyd was in the bathtub, Edna got a bar of chocolate from the fridge to give to Lloyd. It was supposed to be Ed's, but he would understand.

When Edna decided that Lloyd was taking too long in the bathroom, she just walked in with a towel and helped Lloyd dry off. He freaked out a little, like Jay did when he was younger, splashing water all over the place and screeching that she needed to knock.

"You have to get out of the bath, sweetie. I put out some of Jay's old clothes for you to wear while we wait for him to come back."

Lloyd told Edna that he could dry off himself, so she left the bathroom and went back to work upgrading the coffeemaker.

Lloyd walked into the kitchen shortly after the machine started humming, which wasn't good. Edna unplugged it in a panic, squeaking as she did so, and threw it out the window, not noticing Lloyd until he cleared his throat.

"What was that, Mrs Walker?"

Edna stared out the window as the coffeemaker exploded. "Nothing." Edna gave Lloyd the chocolate bar she took out for him. "Here, sweetie. To calm your nerves. Jay says that it helps when you're sad."

"Jay also says there's a giant angry tiger in his room back at the temple and that anything with horns is a goat."

"So you don't want the chocolate?" Edna sounded deeply hurt.

"I guess I'll take it then?"

Edna handed Lloyd the chocolate and went outside to see if the coffeemaker was salvageable while Lloyd ate his candy. Maybe she shouldn't have used that one specific part…

* * *

 _ **Cole & Nya & Dareth & Misako**_

While Misako, Nya and Cole were freaking out about seeing if Jay and Lloyd were okay, Dareth was driving to Jay's parents' place (by the orders of Mrs Slap-Your-Face).

"Hey, that's Jay's mom!" Nya yelled when she saw Edna picking up something outside the trailer. She jumped out and ran to the older woman.

Misako was right behind her, followed by Cole. Dareth was stuck having to park the car.

"Where's Lloyd?" "Where's Jay?" "Are they okay?" "They're not dead, are they?"

Edna didn't even get the chance to register the three people suddenly freaking out in her yard. She squeaked (so that's where Jay gets that from) and dropped whatever it was she was holding. It looked like a coffeemaker, but more… exploded.

"Oh, you must be Lloyd's mother," Edna said, holding out a hand to Misako. "I'm Edna, Jay's mom."

"Where's my son?" Misako breathed, feeling ready to squeeze this tiny woman until her eyes popped out if she didn't tell her what she wanted to know.

"Oh, he's inside. I gave him something sweet to calm his nerves. The poor baby's been crying ever since the accident."

Edna opened the door to let the surprise guests in, startling Lloyd, who didn't expect to see his mom come in just then. Edna ran to get started in making some tea.

"What about Jay?" Nya asked, shaking a little as she spoke. "Is he okay?"

Edna nodded violently. "Oh, he's fine. Ed's just taking him to get some stitches. Nothing too serious, though. Want some tea?"

* * *

 _ **Ronin**_

Ronin tested some of the concealer on his skin. This one was to dark. That one was too light. And while that one was the right shade, he was allergic to it and it gave him a little rash.

"Can I help you, sir?"

It was a young woman speaking. She offered him a bright smile. Ronin didn't have one for her.

"I'm trying to hide some bruises from some friends of mine, and I can't find anything that works."

The woman smiled at him and started helping him, not asking any questions or anything, which was good.

He didn't want the ninjas to catch a whiff of him having been in their rooms.

That wouldn't be good. He would get kicked out, and then he would have to live alone with R.E.X again and… Okay, so the ninjas were starting to grow on him. Don't tell anyone, okay? He had a reputation to uphold, and being soft on the good guys would ruin it.


	7. The Return Home Prart 1

_**Jay & Ed**_

Not only did Jay get the glass and gravel removed from his wound and not only did he get antiseptic put on his other wounds, but he also got the stitches he was brought for.

And he was given enough anaesthesia to make a dragon act funny, if one were to ask Ed.

"Hm."

Right now, Jay was staring at the menu at the smoothie place. Previously, he yelled out at the whole store, startling everybody inside (thankfully, there were only the two employees and Ed inside at the time) that he was going to do something cool. His exact words: "I AM GOING TO DO SOMETHING COOL!"

"Jay, son, you have to order something."

Jay waved his uninjured arm at Ed. "Hush, man. I'm trying to do fruit science."

Apparently, Jay was unable to read due to the medication given to him. Thankfully he figured it out before the sun went down. "Yeah, give me a Smooth Regular."

That wasn't even on the menu. The confused (and startled) cashier stared at Ed with wide brown eyes. "What?"

"Give him a Pineapple Crush," Ed sad.

"Hey, if we get boosted, will it give me lightning powers?"

"Jay, son, you already _have_ lighting powers."

Jay didn't seem to hear him. He was too busy making lightning noises at the waitress, who seemed to be trying to figure out what to do about Jay.

"I'm so sorry, dearie. He just got stitches and they gave him anaesthesia. He'll be like that for a while."

In response, the waitress gave Jay some stickers, which reduced him to tears, leaving him crying the whole way to their booth. "Thank you! I love you so much, this is the best gift ever!" The waitress got a hug for her efforts.

"Jay, are you okay?"

Jay wiggled in response. Ed repeated the question three times, and Jay just kept wiggling until the waitress brought their drinks. More lightning noises, then, once the waitress was out of sight, he pulled out a phone that Ed had no idea where it came from and dialled a number. The waitress came back and gasped. "My phone!"

"Hold on, I'm making a call here."

"Jay, give the nice lady her phone back."

Jay grumbled, but he did as his father asked.

* * *

 _ **Lloyd & Cole & Nya & Dareth & Misako & Edna**_

Cole's phone started ringing.

"Hello?"

" _My phone!" "Hold on, I'm making a call here." "Jay, give the nice lady her phone back." "Grr."_

The call ended, leaving Cole confused.

"Who was that, dearie?" Edna asked.

Cole put the phone down. "I'm not entirely sure." Cole stared at the phone. "I think it might've been Jay, but it wasn't his number."

Cole's phone started ringing again. "Hello?"

" _Cole, it's me! I…" "Where did you get that?"_ Jay shrieked on the other end of the line. _"Wait! No! That's mine!" "How do you even…"_ The line went down again.

"That was Jay again. He doesn't sound right…"

Edna gasped. "Oh no! My baby!" Edna grabbed her purse and hurried to the outside, dragging Dareth out with her. The others had to follow. For a tiny little woman, Edna was surprisingly strong.

"Come on! We have to go and see if Jay and Ed are okay!"

They were all stuck having to squeeze into Dareth's car, because Misako didn't want to stay behind, but she didn't want to separate from Lloyd. Nya wanted to go too, since Jay was her boyfriend, and she had a right to know if he was okay. She also threatened to flood the junkyard if she was left behind, so there was that too. Cole didn't want to be left behind either and Dareth didn't trust the others to drive his car.

In the end, Lloyd wound up falling asleep sitting on Cole's lap, right between Misako and Nya. Edna was sitting next to Dareth, giving him directions to Ninjago City Hospital, freaking out every few minutes.

Good news: Nya didn't care about the treasure hunt anymore and Misako couldn't give him a Disappointed Mom Look every five minutes, but Edna was much worse than the both of them combined, and she wouldn't hesitate to take the wheel from Dareth and drive from the passenger seat. And that was what she was doing at the moment, scaring everybody else in the car (except for Lloyd, who was, again, asleep).

Lloyd started crying in Cole's arms, so he found some calming music on his phone and turned it on.

"There there, it's okay."

Sometimes, they seemed to forget that Lloyd really _was_ just a kid.

The crying stopped right around the time they found Ed's car sitting in front of a smoothie café. Inside, they could see Jay _really_ explain something to his father, who was listening very keenly to what Jay was saying.

The ladies got out first, then Lloyd was gently woken up by Cole, who wanted to see what was going on with Jay just as much as the others.

"Huh? Where are we?" Lloyd was taken from Cole by Nya with a minimum amount of effort. He struggled with his footing for a while, then he hung on to Nya for a little while.

The group went inside, where Jay imidiatly noticed them and waved at them. "Hey! Guys!"

Edna sped to her husband and son, pulling him into a hug. "Oh, Jay, sweetie, I was so worried! I thought you were kidnapped… Or worse!"

"Hi Mom! They fixed my arm and I got stickers and Dad got me a smoothie!"

Jay started rolling up his sleeve to show Edna how they fixed his arm, but Ed quickly made him stop. "Jay, you've got to stop showing that to every person who walks in." Ed sighed. "He's been trying to show everybody who walks in here."

"Jay! I thought you were dead!" Nya grabbed Jay from Edna, who turned to her husband and started talking about something Nya didn't care to listen to. Neither did the others.

"Hey, do you think we should check up on Kai and Zane?" Lloyd asked.

"No, we'll only get in the way," Jay said. "And then Zane's going to be mad at us for butting in."

Nobody was listening to what Jay was saying anymore because he was starting to ramble off and lose track of what he was saying.

"Maybe we should get back to the temple," Misako broke in. Jay didn't seem to notice. "I don't think we can keep up with this right now. Kai and Zane can tell us how it went."

* * *

 _ **Ronin**_

He got the make-up lady's number.

Yep, he still had the moves. He was back in the temple, reading a book he found on the counter, when he heard people coming in.

"… just have to practice without me blabbing in your ear. It's not your fault, Lloyd. And, this might just be the anaesthesia talking, but you're my favourite. Don't tell Cole."

"I'm right behind you."

Whoever it was who was talking gasped in shock, then he spoke again. "Cole! You're my favourite. Don't tell anyone, especially Nya. _She'll kill you in your sleep._ "

Nya gasped. " _Jay!_ What…"

"Nya! I love you the most. Don't tell anybody."

Ronin got up to see what was going on. The treasure hunt he sent the ninjas out on was meant to take them a lot longer than this.

In the living room, he found Jay poking his arm, Lloyd, Cole and Nya staring at the Blue Ninja and everyone else doing their best to not look concerned.

"Hey guys! You know, I thought you would…" Somebody was missing. "Where's Kai and Zane?"


	8. The Return Home Part 2

_**Kai & Zane**_

Zane stayed with Kai the whole night, ignoring his ringing phone the whole time. Kai slept peacefully while Zane stood guard.

" _I think it's sweet that you've decided to stay with Kai."_ Pixal said in his head.

"Do you really?"

" _Yes. But he might not think so. You know how Kai is…"_

Pixal abruptly stopped speaking when Kai's hand poked out from under his blankets and rested on Zane's chest.

"Kai? Are you awake?"

Kai didn't answer. Zane decided to try playing the sounds of a heartbeat for Kai. It might relax him. In reaction, however, Kai started counting in his sleep. "One… Two… mpff… four…"

"Kai? Are you okay? What are you counting?"

"Zane?" Kai dropped his arm down, resting in Zane's lap. "This is wrong. You don't have one." Kai sounded close to tears. "You don't have one."

"What don't I have? Maybe I can get one for you?"

Kai didn't answer. Zane started to get up and leave, but Kai grabbed him by the wrist and refused to let him go. He kept his fingers where Zane's pulse would've been found if he'd been human.

Zane shut down the heartbeat sounds and Kai relaxed a little. "That's better. You don't have one. Much better."

"Do you mean…"

"You don't have one. If you don't have one, you can't make that noise and that's wrong. You can't be wrong."

Zane sat down again. Kai mumbled in his sleep again.

"Kai, what don't I have?"

"You don't have a heart. I can't feel it."

"I'm sorry…?"

"You don't have…" Kai grumbled something under his breath, then he rolled around, letting go of Zane along the way.

* * *

In the morning, the doctors claimed that Kai was okay enough to go back to the temple.

He remembered everything again, so there was that. But he had no memory of what happened the previous night.

"So you don't remember anything?" Zane asked for the third time that morning.

"Nope." Kai ran his fingers across his wrinkled clothes. He kept doing so even after smoke started coming out of his clothes. Zane reached for Kai's hand to try and get him to stop, but he was too warm.

"Kai, you're going to burn your clothes off and that's going to leave you naked in public."

A couple of passing girls seemed far too interested in that and one of them stopped walking so she could stare at Kai with a very interested look on her face.

Zane shooed her away.

When he turned to help Kai, he found that the Master of Fire had burned a couple of holes in his clothes.

"Kai!" Zane grabbed Kai by the arm, shooting a layer of ice at his friend before he did so.

Kai didn't speak a word.

"Come on, let's get you something without any holes in them," Zane said as he dragged Kai into a nearby clothing store. "And don't burn holes in these."

Kai found a very plain T-shirt and jeans which he liked, despite Zane thinking that it sucked.

Kai still tried them on and liked them so very much. His old clothes were thrown away and Zane found that he had to pay for the stupid clothes because Kai didn't have any money on himself.

* * *

"Thanks." Kai put his gloved hands in his new blood-red jeans' pockets. "I'll pay you back as soon as I can."

"No need, Kai. You're my friend, and that's what friends do, isn't it? Friends help out each other."

Kai looked down at his feet, turning the same shade of pink as Jay turned around Nya. "But still, thanks."

" _Do something, Zane. Comment on his hair or something. It looks different when he hasn't spent over three hours trying to look like something from an anime, right?"_

"Your hair looks different."

Great. Now Kai was white. Painfully white. And he grabbed on to Zane for dear life. He was getting warmer and warmer, while Zane had to cool down until Kai stopped getting warmer.

"Kai, are you okay?" Zane still had his old body, he would've turned pink like Kai did only seconds ago.

"Um…"

Zane managed to pry Kai off his arm. And now the Master of Fire was turning pink again. But he wasn't getting hotter and hotter again. In fact, he was cooling down rapidly.

"We should be getting home. The others must've been worried when we weren't home yesterday."

Kai nodded and followed Zane through the city, all the way back to their car.

Once inside, Zane took the wheel and drove back to the temple. Zane parked in his usual spot, next to Kai's car.

Right as Kai was about to get out of the car, he gave Zane a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Aw, how sweet!"

That was Jay. He had his arm in a sling and if he said anything, Kai would make sure that the other arm would be in a sling too. Zane didn't move at all.

"Zane?" Kai poked Zane. The nindroid didn't react. Jay kept smiling like an idiot with his working hand over his heart. "Zane, I'm sorry if that was uncalled for."

Zane seemed to snap out of it and glared at Jay until he ran out of the garage and into the temple.

* * *

When they reached the living room, Jay was just vanishing down the hallway.

Ronin was reading on the sofa and Nya was about to go after Jay when she saw Kai and Zane coming in.

"Guys! There you are!" She seemed a little off.

"Did Jay say anything to you? When he came in just now?" Kai asked, turning pink again.

"Yeah, he said he was going to lock himself up in his room for the rest of the day. I think he's hiding from Lloyd." Nya sighed. "Poor guy still thinks it's his fault."

"What's his fault?" Zane asked.

"Well, according to Lloyd, Jay was teaching him how to drive when they hit a walaber that was standing in the road. Jay shot out through the window and spent the rest of yesterday in shock and then, drugged out of his mind. Now Lloyd keeps trying to make it up to Jay and now Jay keeps hiding from Lloyd."

"Poor guy…" Kai started.

"Also, I think Ronin thinks they're vampires."

Okay, now that was far more interesting than the accident. "Why?"

"I don't know. Weird, right?"

That was weird. And neither the white nor the red ninja believed Nya until they walked past Ronin putting silver out in front of his room.

Okay. Something happened. Something very weird.

* * *

 **This is the final chapter of this story. The Zane x Kai was an accident. I don't know how it happened, so sorry if it was sudden. I'll continue their relationship in my next fanfiction for those who like that.  
**


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